


The Supernova Scene

by Shadow_Side



Series: The Eye And The Aperture [1]
Category: Portal (Video Game), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Side/pseuds/Shadow_Side
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something <i>else</i> under Night Vale, and Carlos wants to check it out. For science.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Supernova Scene

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry. It had to be done. The title is from _Video Killed The Radio Star_ , which features on my personal playlists for both fandoms and is surprisingly apt all round in a weird sort of way. I'd also like to be able to claim that this fic came about because of a carefully thought-out desire to compare and revel in the relative but similar dark humour styles of these two fandoms, but honestly? I just wanted an excuse to get Cecil and GLaDOS in the same room, because by their beautiful voices combined, they are all that is right with the world.
> 
> Set after Episode 31 ( _The Blinking Light Up On The Mountain_ ) but prior to Episode 32 ( _Yellow Helicopters_ ) of _Welcome To Night Vale_ and post- _Portal_ 2 (single and multiplayer). Shush. Chronology is important. Or, it would be, if time was real.
> 
> Many thanks to Davechicken for the beta, and now for the gorgeous banner too!
> 
>  

The first Cecil knows that his evening plans are about to go awry is when the text comes in, midway through the day's broadcast. He's just clicked over to the pre-recorded weather report and is about to go see if their latest intern – Harold – has gotten anywhere with that promise of coffee, when his phone beeps.

He pulls it out and glances at the screen, expression breaking into a smile when he sees that it's a text from Carlos. It says, simply _'call me when you can?'_

Now seems as good a time as any, so he hits the speed dial. "Hey," comes Carlos' voice, as the call connects. "Is now good?"

This takes Cecil a little by surprise. Surely the other man was listening to the broadcast? He usually has it on in the lab these days, even when he's really busy with something – aside from that odd incident with the three blue crystals that absorbed all sound in the town. That had been a weird day. "Uh… sure," he answers. "Just went to the weather. You weren't..?"

He knows there's a flicker of sadness in his voice as he speaks, though he's trying not to let on. Because… there has to be a good reason. Right?

"No, no, I was out," Carlos answers. He sounds a little nervous, and that makes Cecil wonder what's going on. "I… look, Cecil, I've found something, and I need to investigate it as soon as possible. Like, this evening. And I know it's supposed to be Date Night but… I don't think this is something I can just leave."

"…Oh." Cecil's face falls, and he knows now it’s very clear in his voice.

"But… you know… you could come with me?" Carlos suggests, a little fast, as if he's been working himself up to saying it. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want to, I know it's not the same, but…"

"I would love to," Cecil replies, brightening. "What is it?"

"You'll see when we get there. Pick me up at my place when you're done for the day?"

Now Cecil is back to grinning. A field trip? His Carlos has the best ideas. "Deal."

***

The sun is setting as Cecil heads out from the broadcast station and follows the now-familiar route through Night Vale down to Carlos' lab. He pulls up outside, and is about to step out and go ring the doorbell when Carlos himself comes hurrying over, tugging open the car door and getting in. He looks flustered, but he does at least lean in for a quick kiss before he says anything.

"Head out of town, Route 800. Northbound. I'll tell you when to turn off."

Cecil gives him a concerned look. "Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure yet," Carlos answers. "I've been picking up weird energy readings for the last few days. They've been getting stronger. I went out today to try to pinpoint the source and… well. You'll see when we get there."

Cecil knows better than to argue when Carlos is in full science-mode, so he nods and sets off driving again. The road is quiet as they go; the town settling in under the growing darkness, lights winking on in the windows.

Eventually, Carlos says, "…I should warn you in advance, this may turn out to be weird. Or it may turn out to be nothing. I'm not sure yet."

"Don't forget, I'm a journalist at heart," Cecil reminds him. "It's part of my job to investigate things and report on them. Like that manhole cover down in Old Town that was eating people."

Carlos stares. "It was not. That story was a complete fabrication. I don't even know where you got it from."

"We had dozens of reports!" Cecil insists. "Eyewitness accounts and everything!"

"…So you'll believe in a manhole cover that eats people, yet still insist there's no such thing as _clouds_?"

"There _is_ no such thing as clouds. The City Council…"

"…I know what the City Council says," Carlos interjects, and sighs. He's even beautiful when he's exasperated. Cecil really is the luckiest man in the world. "I'm never going to get my head around how this place works…"

They drive on through the falling darkness, following Route 800 out of Night Vale and into the scrublands – until, finally, Carlos waves at the start of a dirt track, off to the right. "Here," he says, quickly. "Here, turn here."

And now they're heading into the desert, the ground increasingly rough and bumpy beneath them, a spiral of dust and sand in their wake. Eventually, Cecil spots something up ahead, just as Carlos says, "OK, OK, pull in here, this should do."

As they both climb out, Cecil can finally see what they've been heading towards… and frankly, it doesn't look remarkable at all. It's a small shack, made of some kind of corrugated metal, standing alone in the middle of the otherwise unremarkable desert. What could possibly be interesting about this?

But. No. Carlos is the scientist, and if he wants to check it out, there must be a reason. For science.

Carlos reaches into his shoulder bag and pulls out a flashlight, clicking it on and sending a bright glow spilling out into the night. In the fresh illumination he looks nervous again, and Cecil instinctively moves closer.

"…It's a metal shack," he points out, unnecessarily, trying to get Carlos to elaborate. Not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he really doesn't know what's going on.

It's sort of exciting, though.

"On the outside, it is," Carlos replies, starting to walk closer. "But on the inside… I don't know yet. All I know is that my equipment went haywire when I was here earlier. And… well, come see…"

They move around the small structure, and as they do, Cecil realises that, on the far side, there's a single metal door, which glitters a little in the glow from the flashlight. "I haven't been able to get it open," Carlos goes on, gesturing at it. "There's no lock, electronic or mechanical – and none of those weird symbols that appear on things when the City Council doesn't want you to get in places. But nothing I do seems to have any effect. I even tried tying a line to the handle and pulling it with my car, and you do not want to know what it did to the rear bumper…"

"So… how do you plan to get in?" Cecil asks.

"Honestly, I don't know," Carlos admits. "I was hoping something would come to me before I got back here, and now I am and it hasn't, well…"

There's a little self-doubt in his beautiful eyes, and Cecil feels a flash of desire to do something. He just… isn't sure what. Having no other inspiration, he puts his hand out, grasping the door handle… and it simply clicks open, as easy as that.

Carlos stares at him. "How did you..?"

"…I have no idea," Cecil replies, looking as surprised as he feels. "I just… tried it. You did think to try it first, right?"

"Of course!" Carlos insists. "For about ten solid minutes, before I resorted to the blow torch, which didn't even leave a mark. And yet you just… how does this stuff always happen with you?"

Cecil shrugs. "Just lucky, I guess."

Carlos shakes his head. "Well… open it, then…" he urges, taking a step back.

And Cecil does. Behind the door… is a dark, metal stairway, leading down.

"…This has nothing to do with the subway, right?" Cecil has to ask, carefully.

Carlos shakes his head. "No. I checked all the maps. Whatever _that_ was… _is_ … it doesn't come this far out. And if it was, there's no way I'd intentionally let you go near it again. Not after last time."

"Uh-huh. And… it's nothing to do with the miniature city underneath Lane Five of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex?"

Carlos' eyes flicker, and Cecil instinctively grips his hand. "No," Carlos says. "No. Believe me, I checked _that_ too."

"So… there's something _else_ under Night Vale?"

"Yes," Carlos answers, then takes a deep breath. "And we're going to find out what."

And, side by side, they head down the dark stairs.

***

After some minutes of walking close together down a series of unlit corridors and stairwells – with only the flashlight to guide the way – they finally come to another door. Unlike the one on the surface – which is of the usual rectangular style and size – this one is large and round, and has no handle of any kind. But, like the one on the surface, it seems to have little interest in opening when Carlos goes near it, touches it, or, indeed, speaks to it.

He sighs. "You try. Maybe your whatever-it-is will work twice…"

Only to happy to oblige – for science – Cecil walks up to the door. It doesn't budge at first, but when he puts his hand on the flat, metal surface there's a clunk, and the door parts in the middle, sliding open.

"…Seriously, how do you do that?" Carlos asks.

Cecil shrugs again. "Maybe it likes me?" he suggests.

"Maybe it does," Carlos replies, shaking his head. "I guess we only need to worry if it starts talking to you as well…"

"…Hello?" comes a voice that is most definitely neither of them; a voice from the room beyond the door. A voice seemingly without source yet clearly there nonetheless.

Cecil and Carlos both grab hold of each other in shock. "…You heard that, right?" Carlos asks, in barely more than a whisper.

"I heard it," Cecil answers, just as quietly. "I think it _is_ actually talking to me. Well, us."

"Hello?" comes the voice again.

"What should we do?" Cecil asks. He hasn't let go yet, but then, he's in no hurry to.

"You could try answering it," Carlos suggests.

"Why me?"

"Because it seems to like you. So… try it."

Cecil still hesitates, but after a moment he nods. "Hello?" he calls back, louder now.

"Hello," the voice answers. This time, it's most definitely not a question. It's heard him. It's an odd voice, too; smooth and sonorous and distinctly female, yet also more than a little artificial, as if… not quite human. "How did you get in here?"

"You really think I should be talking to it?" Cecil whispers to Carlos, who is watching him with wide, cautious eyes.

"Makes as much sense as anything else at this point," Carlos reasons.

"There's a door on the surface," Cecil calls out, answering the voice. "A stairway. It… needed investigation."

Even though he has nothing to go on but the sound of the voice itself, he can tell that it… that _she_ … is surprised, and trying not to show it. "Well, in that case… I welcome you both to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre."

They exchange a glance at this – at the name, and at the fact that the voice said _both_. Even though Carlos hasn't spoken… she knows there's two of them. Is she watching somehow?

Cecil still doesn't let go of his boyfriend. In fact, he holds on tighter.

"Human-based testing is currently suspended due to… technical difficulties," the voice goes on. "However, if you are interested in signing up, we do have some openings…"

Something about this sounds very ominous. "Uh… no, no, we'd just like to look around a little," Cecil manages. "If that would be OK?"

"Oh, do feel free," the voice answers, so very smoothly. "Take… all the time you need."

There's silence for a moment, though it isn't clear if this is because the source of the voice has gone, or is simply not speaking. Watching, perhaps.

"Shall we go on?" Cecil asks, after a moment.

Carlos nods. "Yes," he agrees. "But be careful. I don't like the sound of that. Whatever this place is… it's not what it seems."

Cecil gives him a wry smile. "We get that a lot here."

***

Before long, the corridors – which are lit, now – lead them into a wide, grey room. The facility they're in seems to be in various states of disrepair, but this room is certainly in a better condition than most of what they've seen thus far. It has another of those round doors up ahead – but this time, even Cecil can't get it to open. This does seem to make Carlos feel a little better, but it also leaves them stuck in the room with no obvious way to get out.

"Now what?" Cecil asks, stepping back from the door after having tried whispering to it in Unmodified Sumerian (he's been taking a correspondence course, and is delighted for the opportunity to try it out, even if it does no good).

"Good question," Carlos replies, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "That voice said something about testing… maybe this whole place is some sort of giant experiment."

"So… what? We have to do science to get out?"

"I think more like… we _are_ the science."

Something about this seems ominous too – and doubly-so when there's a clunk, and an object drops into the corner of the room.

"What was that?" Carlos exclaims.

Intrigued – and very much in favour of further science – Cecil walks over to investigate. The thing in question is a sort of grey cube with reinforced corners; maybe half a metre wide. He reaches out and picks it up, finding it to be lighter than expected.

"It's a box," he says, turning back with it, and gives it a careful shake. "Seems to be empty."

Carlos' mind has clearly been working, because he points to the only other thing in the room; a weird, slightly raised red plinth. "Try putting it on that," he suggests, as if following through an idea.

Cecil raises his eyebrows, but does as he's asked, walking over and laying the cube on the plinth… which promptly sinks down slightly and glows red.

And behind them, the door slides open.

Cecil beams. Carlos, however, still looks concerned, if less confused. "I've read about this," he says. "It was years ago, back when I was still studying. I remember seeing a paper on cube-and-button-based testing. It was written by some crazy guy with a weird-sounding name."

"Cube-and-button-based testing?" Cecil repeats. "Is that… very scientific?"

"Allegedly," Carlos answers, though his expression says otherwise. "I think it was part of something larger, though."

They both glance over at the now-open door. "You think… we should keep going?" Cecil asks.

Carlos takes a deep breath. "Yes. Yes. We have to get to the bottom of this. Have to work out what those energy readings mean." He pauses, now looking back at Cecil. "Still glad you came along?"

Cecil just smiles. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

***

It's a sentiment he still stands by as they explore deeper, although if truth be told, it would help if the place was a little less creepy. They move through a couple of other rooms, all of which contain other cube-and-button combinations, but no indication as to what the point of any of this is.

And then, they get to a room that poses a problem. Rather than more cubes or buttons, it consists of a vast pit between them and the door. Carlos approaches the edge of it cautiously, peering down.

"…Oh. Oh dear. That isn't good at all," he says, staring down into the pit, which seems to be filled with some kind of churning, viscous liquid.

"What is that stuff?" Cecil asks.

"I'm not sure," Carlos admits. "But look at it. That isn't something we want to go in. Or touch in any way. Or, to be honest, breathe too close to."

They pull back a little, away from it, staring out over the seemingly uncrossable pit.

"What now?"

"Good question," Carlos answers, looking about distractedly. "Maybe this was a bad idea…"

"No!" Cecil insists. "We've gotten this far. I'm sure we can work this one out, too."

"We must be missing something…" Carlos says. "Oh, I wish I'd done more research before we came down here… but I didn't know what we were coming into so I wouldn't even have known _what_ to research."

Which is when an idea dawns on Cecil. "What if… I could get you something now?"

Carlos stares at him. "How? We're trapped in a vast, underground facility run by a bizarre female voice who I _swear_ is still watching us."

Cecil smiles a little at this. Sometimes his Carlos is so caught up in science that he misses the most obvious things. "The public library." And when Carlos still looks confused, Cecil elaborates. "I know they built that actual entrance and everything, but a lot of us still get in the old fashioned way."

"…Oh no, you don't mean the dream thing?" Carlos says, looking worried. "Isn't that horribly dangerous?"

"Well, technically yes," Cecil admits. "But I do it all the time and I'm just fine. Admittedly sometimes after I wake up I can't sleep properly for days, but at least I have a few good books to keep me occupied when I'm up all night."

Carlos bites his lip. "But… Cecil… if something happens to you, I'll…"

"It will be fine," Cecil insists, grasping both of Carlos' hands and pulling them into his chest. "We just have to find somewhere to go to sleep. You'll have to, as well. It doesn't work if there's someone awake and watching you."

Which is very true. But he also doesn't want Carlos to see him scared – which he knows he will be. It's impossible to go to that place and _not_ be scared to some extent.

"All right," Carlos agrees, reluctantly. "Just… just be careful, OK? Promise me?"

Cecil pulls him right in, both arms around him now. "I promise," he says, hoping the other man can't hear how fast his heart is beating. "What am I looking for when I get there?"

"Anything you can find on Aperture Science," Carlos answers, pressing in against him. "Preferably something about this place, or the experiments they used to do."

"All right," Cecil says.

They move to the back of the room – as far away from the deadly pit as possible – and find a clear stretch of floor to curl up on. And yes, it's a little weird, but it's also the only way to make this work.

"I don't know how I'm just going to fall asleep like this," Carlos remarks, as he spoons in close, an arm thrown over Cecil.

"Me neither," Cecil admits.

But within a few moments… they're both unconscious.

***

Cecil awakes… between two high bookshelves, the lighting dim and low. His heart is racing in his chest and for a moment he's hit by a wave of dizziness that slowly subsides as he tries to focus. He scrambles to his feet, blinking around himself, gradually remembering where he is and why he's here.

Either side of him, more bookshelves stretch off into the dark distance; seemingly endless, towering, immense. Yet as he starts to walk along them, he's suddenly further along than he thinks, turning through a gap between two stacks and looking out down a long row, with more bookshelves stretching off in both directions.

There's a flash of movement out the corner of his eye, and he turns hurriedly… but there's nothing. Nothing. Just the bookshelves, just the library; immense and all-consuming.

Carefully – _quietly_ – Cecil starts to make his way along the stacks, glancing over the brass nameplates stating what each contains until he finally finds the one he's looking for. Moving down the new row of bookcases, he scans the titles, looking for anything that jumps out – metaphorically, not literally… well, hopefully not. Book after book, some old, some new, at least one obviously non-existent, but none seem right, and…

There's movement off to the side; footsteps and a soft rustle. Cecil immediately turns to look – he's been here too many times to fall into the trap of complacency – and his heart nearly stops.

Further on down the row… is a librarian. And even though it has no visible eyes, he knows it's seen him. Knows it's been watching him.

He remembers the advice – he's repeated it enough times on his show. So many sensible safety tips. And yet… right now… it's hard to focus on any of it. Hard to focus on anything but one single thought: _run_.

Cecil turns and races off in the opposite direction. Behind him, there's a howl that cuts through his blood; a howl like a swarm of angry hawks. The terror builds, and he's running as fast as he can, knowing full-well that the librarian is chasing him, that it's _gaining_ … that he can't outrun it and when it catches him… when it catches him…

He trips, and hits the floor hard, barely aware of what's happened until he's down. Blinking ahead of him, he suddenly realises there's a book underneath the shelves, right where he's fallen. A book with _'A History of Aperture Science'_ written along the spine.

Cecil doesn't stop to think about it, or to question it. He reaches out and seizes the book, pulling it into his chest, seconds before he feels something grab his shoulder and roll him onto his back. A dark, terrible shape looms above him, hissing softly.

He screams… and wakes with a sharp jolt, sitting upright at once. He's shaking bodily, heart pounding in his chest, drawing breath in rough, almost painful gasps.

"Cecil!" he hears Carlos call, grasping him from behind and holding him tight. "Cecil, it's all right, you're awake, you're awake, just focus…"

The warmth from the other man's body feels like the only good thing in the world right now. Cecil leans into him more, trying to get his breathing to slow, to stop shaking, to remember where he was and what he…

Flashes of memory come back; dark bookshelves and a black shadow, chasing him in the stillness. "Oh…" he whispers, softly. "Oh, that was close…"

"What happened?" Carlos whispers, not letting go of him, head pressed against the back of his shoulder.

"…Librarian," Cecil manages, with a shudder. "Chased me. I… thought I was…"

"Well, you're not," Carlos insists, voice cracking just a little. "You're here. You're safe. I've got you, OK?"

Cecil nods. "OK… I… OK."

Slow, deep breaths. Even for a regular reader, trips to the library never get any easier, and it's another moment before he finally starts to relax in Carlos' arms.

"Did it work?" the other man asks him, once his breathing has finally slowed.

Cecil looks down… and there, on the floor beside him, is a book. The book. _'A History of Aperture Science'_. He reaches out and picks it up. "Yes," he answers, finally turning, and brightening a little. "Yes, it worked."

He offers the book to Carlos, who takes it with a nod. The front cover, like the spine, also reads _'A History of Aperture Science'_ , but beneath it adds _'With a foreword by Cave Johnson.'_

"Oh, that's him!" Carlos exclaims, tapping the name. "Cave Johnson, the guy with the weird name. The cube-and-button guy."

"So… I did good?" Cecil asks, hopefully.

"Yeah," Carlos agrees, grinning and gripping his hand. "You did good. Now… I'd better have a look through this…"

***

Cecil lets Carlos sit and read for quite a while. To start off with – still a little raw from his trip to the library – he just stays close, resting against the other man and occasionally glancing over his shoulder. Eventually, he gets up and starts wandering about the room they're still trapped in, in the hope that he might find something helpful.

The door they came in through stubbornly refuses to open, no matter what he does, and after a while he gives up trying and starts running his hand over the wall instead, wondering if that might do any good. Up and down he paces, fingertips trailing across the cool, metal surface, until all of a sudden there's a low clunk and part of the wall starts to move outwards on a pair of metallic arms, revealing some sort of space beyond.

"Carlos!" Cecil calls out, excitedly. "Look what I found!"

Carlos stares over at him in surprise… no, not so much surprise as realisation. He gets up, tucking the book into his shoulder bag, and heads over. "I was right," he murmurs, hand glancing over the opened-up wall. "Yes, yes, it makes more sense now…"

"You know what's going on?" Cecil asks. "Did the book help?"

"It did," Carlos replies. "This place… Aperture Science… was founded decades ago to conduct all kinds of weird experiments and tests. The facility is constructed out of these… they're called panels. They allow the whole layout to be changed and manipulated at will. Like… a maze with moving walls."

This sounds ominous. "So… who controls it?" Cecil now asks.

"That's the thing," Carlos goes on. "There used to be teams of scientists here, but they're all gone now and it doesn't say why. Just that the whole facility is run by an artificial intelligence – a sentient computer – called GLaDOS. I'm betting that's the voice we heard. I'm betting that it… _she_ … is still running the place even though the human scientists are gone."

"So… what does she want?" Cecil wonders.

"I just want to test…" comes the strangely robotic voice again. GLaDOS.

The two men exchange worried glances, suddenly neither daring to speak. They try to have a conversation using just their eyes, but it doesn't quite work and eventually Cecil turns nervously and looks out into the room. "Test what?" he asks, carefully.

"You, of course," GLaDOS answers. "Humans in general, but right now… the two of you in particular. You are quite, quite anomalous… and I haven't encountered that in a long time."

"And what are we supposed to do?"

" _Survive_." Just the way she says this one word fills Cecil with a sudden, fresh spiral of fear. "It's as simple as that. Survive long enough… and I may even show you the way out. Plus, there's cake…"

"Cake?" Carlos says, apparently before he can stop himself.

"…Oh, you _do_ speak," GLaDOS remarks, dryly. "And here I was thinking I had another silent one on my hands. But to answer your question… yes, cake. Delicious, moist cake. With sprinkles. Would you like that?"

Cecil stares up, horrified, and shakes his head at Carlos. "Say no," he insists, in a whisper. "Say no. Cake contains wheat and wheat by-products! It's _forbidden_!"

"…A disembodied voice in a vast, underground facility is offering you cake and _that's_ your first response?" Carlos replies, looking a little stunned.

"Of course," Cecil says, patting him on the arm. "I don't want the Secret Police kicking my door down at three in the morning."

"You have odd priorities…" Carlos mutters, turning back to the open wall panel and starting to tap at the controls on one of the arms.

"Delicious, delicious cake…" GLaDOS says, almost wistfully. "Completely gluten-free. I know you'd love it…"

"Which we would earn… how?" Cecil asks, louder again. Simply to see what answer he gets.

"Just… keep going," says GLaDOS, smoothly. "Just… keep testing. At the end, there will be cake."

The wall panel opens further. Carlos grabs Cecil's arm. "In here!" he says, urgently, and tugs him past the panel and into the space beyond. It's still lit, but darker and dingier than outside, with rougher walls… almost like being backstage at a theatre.

"Stay behind the panel and keep your voice down," Carlos says, softly. "I don't think she can hear us back here."

Then he turns, just as Cecil does… and both of them stare, because one of the walls is covered in a huge, painted picture, and roughly-scrawled writing. "Oh, that's not good," Carlos breathes, walking closer to it.

The wall depicts a confused, swirling maelstrom, in purple with flashes of orange and blue. At the centre of it is a pair of black, staring eyes, with a circle of words twisted around them, _'now the moon is fallen and the stars are underground.'_

And alongside the picture, over and over, are written the same five words: _'The cake is a lie.'_

"…Definitely not good," Cecil agrees. "What does that even mean?"

"I have no idea," Carlos says, gripping his arm again. "But I think we should be very wary of this alleged cake."

"I think you're right."

"And I sort of want to get out of here. Except… the energy readings… I still need to know what they are."

Cecil takes a deep breath. "Then we keep going. Sure, we may be in mortal peril due to a bodiless supercomputer and/or spirit that wants to kill us with non-existent and potentially wheat-inclusive cake, but we can't let that hold back _science_. We came down here because it was important to you, and if it's important to you, it's important to me."

Carlos smiles at him. "I love you, you know."

Cecil beams. They haven't been saying this to each other for very long yet, and it still feels like the best thing in the whole world every time Carlos does. "I know."

"We need to go back out there," Carlos goes on, after a moment. "I think I can manipulate the panels now. I should be able to make us a bridge to get over that pit."

Cautiously, they head back out. Carlos does something to the open panel for a moment – some sort of complicated science-stuff that Cecil isn't quite sure about but trusts completely – and then a whole collection of the wall panels move at once, forming a bridge along the right-hand wall.

"You're so smart," Cecil says, wistfully.

"I try," Carlos replies. "But don't thank me until we're safely over there."

They make their way carefully over the bridge. It seems sturdy and immoveable, but there's always the worry it might try to move again. Thankfully it doesn't, and soon they're on the far side at long last, the door opening for them almost graciously, as if in recognition of their success.

"That went well," Carlos says. "Maybe too well. But… now we can keep going."

"For science!" Cecil adds, brightly.

"For science," Carlos agrees.

***

A couple more rooms pass with ease. Now that Carlos can manipulate the walls – which is just _so_ impressive – they're able to navigate over obstacles far more quickly.

But then… they find a high, two-storey room that poses a new problem. In this room, there are two types of panels – the regular, pale ones, and much darker ones, which seem to be formed from a different kind of metal. Most of the lower section is made of them, and try as he might, Carlos can't seem to move them even a little. And what's more… the door is on the upper level, well out of reach. It has the paler panels around it, but they'll never reach this far down, no matter how hard Carlos tries.

"…Now what?" Cecil wonders.

"Maybe you need this…" comes GLaDOS' voice, making him jump. And as she speaks, something rises through the floor in the centre of the room – a narrow plinth, with a sort of… gun… lying on it.

" _Oh_ ," Carlos breathes, in something like delight. "Oh, I was _so_ hoping we might find one of these. They're described in the book in _great_ detail."

"What is it?" Cecil asks. "It… looks like a gun."

"Technically, it is," Carlos says. "But it doesn't fire bullets."

"This is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device," GLaDOS says, a hint of pride in her smooth voice. "With it, you can create portals on any pale panel's surface, one blue, one orange. Enter one portal, and you will exit through the other. Wherever it is."

"I have _got_ to try that," Carlos says, walking over to it and picking it up, and it's a quiet joy to see him so excited. He turns to the small section of the lower wall that has the pale panels, aiming the portal gun at it. "Stay behind me," he says, and hits the blue trigger. There's an electric whine, a bolt of bright light, and a vivid, glowing blue portal bursts into life on the wall, rippling and shimmering.

Cecil applauds. Carlos actually cheers. "Did you see that?!" he exclaims. "Do you realise how many laws of physics this thing bends? It's incredible!"

"Try it again," Cecil urges, excitedly. "Up there, by the door."

Carlos nods and turns – Cecil moving too, so as to stay behind him – and aims upwards this time. He hits the orange trigger, and almost at once, a glowing orange portal bursts into life on the wall, on the upper level. But now, rather than looking like a mirror made of coloured liquid, it looks more like a hole in reality… through which, impossible though it seems, they can see their own backs. Turning in shock, they look through the blue portal – which has itself become a hole in reality as well – and can see the upper level, looking down on themselves again, and the blue portal too, and… something beyond, like reality folded in on itself, recursive and slightly, wonderfully terrifying.

"…oh, that is _so_ cool," Carlos breathes. "We have to go through it. I want to see what it feels like."

Cautiously, they approach the glowing blue gap in reality. "Can I?" Cecil asks, excitedly.

"Go on," Carlos replies.

And Cecil reaches out, waving his arm through the portal. They both look back and up as he does – and there, on the upper level, they can see an arm waving through the orange portal.

"That is just _neat_!" Cecil exclaims. "Should we..?"

Carlos nods, keeping the portal gun in one hand and taking Cecil's with the other. "Yes," he says. "Together. On three. One… two…"

"…three!"

They step through… and they're on the upper level, the orange portal behind them, looking down on the room, lit by the glow of the blue portal on the far side.

Carlos breaks into laughter. "Oh, the others are _never_ going to believe me when I tell them about this!"

At their side, the door slips open. "Come on," he adds, "we have to explore further!"

And on they go.

***

Deep within the facility, way beyond the two explorers, GLaDOS watches their progress.

She hasn't had this much fun in a long time. They're far more entertaining than the robots. Perhaps not quite as fun as… you know… _her_ … but interesting in their own little way nonetheless.

They think differently. They also seem to have a very powerful bond… which is perhaps something that needs to be exploited a little more. For science, of course.

And then… there's the other thing. The thing that she can't see but knows is there. The thing that she's directing the two intruders towards. Partly to see what happens. Partly… in case they can deal with it.

These energy readings aren't normal. Aren't normal at all. They don't fit any of the data curves, and GLaDOS is instinctively wary of anomalies. Anomalies have a tendency to produce… well. Anomalous results. Like where you think the testing is going fine, and all of a sudden bits of you are on fire and you're being murdered.

So. She has anomalous intruders, and anomalous energy readings, and all of the graphs are wrong. But maybe… perhaps… they'll cancel each other out.

Well. One way or another, at least it will be interesting to watch…

***

The portal gun is easily the most fun either Cecil or Carlos has had in a long time. In the next room, which is made up almost entirely of the pale panels, they spend a good few minutes just playing about with it – creating portals in different places and going through them, just for the bizarre thrill of finding themselves in a completely different spot all at once.

Things get even weirder when they discover that they can make portals in the floor, too. One on the floor, one on the wall, and Carlos ends up sprawled in a heap, laughing his head off, because of how the world has half-inverted.

"…Oh… that's just bizarre!" he says, as Cecil helps him up. "It's kind of like being drunk, except you can still think clearly…"

And then – because they can – they make portals on opposite sides of the room, stand at one each, and kiss through them; blue and orange light dancing in their periphery like half-remembered dreams.

But, fun though it all is, eventually science must prevail… so they get themselves out of the room – which involves dropping a cube onto a distant button that the dark panels prevent them reaching – and carry on.

And soon, they're in a long corridor, which is more dimly-lit and… sort of foreboding, in an odd way. The air feels cooler and tastes weirdly metallic, and the two men start to walk close together again.

They turn a corner, and up ahead, coming from around the next corner, is a bright red laser beam, cutting through the air and glittering against the back wall.

"Whoa," Carlos breathes. "What is that..?"

"…Hello?" comes a voice. A new voice. It's not GLaDOS, and rather than emanating from _everywhere_ , it seems to come specifically from around the corner. It's softer, too, and oddly genderless.

Cecil glances at Carlos. "You think I should talk to it?" he whispers.

"Might as well try," Carlos whispers back, but he looks worried again.

"Hello," Cecil says, louder now.

"Who's there?" asks the little voice – and as it does, the red laser beam moves. Almost as if it's… searching for something.

Carlos grips Cecil's arm. "I have a bad feeling about this," he says.

It's mutual. "Me too," Cecil admits. "You think we should try to get a look round that corner?"

There's a second's hesitation, and then Carlos nods. "Yes… but carefully. So, so carefully."

Staying close to the wall, they edge along, until they're right by the corner. Very slowly, Cecil inches up to it, and peers around. The instant he does, the red laser beam points right at him.

"There you are," says the little voice.

And there's an eruption of gunfire. Carlos yells in shock, grabbing hold of Cecil and pulling him away from the corner all at once, eyes wide with sudden fear. They both press into the wall, holding each other tightly, as, off to the side, the red laser beam sweeps the area again. The gunfire stops just as abruptly, after a moment.

"Target lost," says the little voice. "Resting…"

Cecil's heart is racing again, and Carlos can't keep his hands off him – which is even more welcome than usual, given the circumstances.

"Are you all right?" Carlos asks him, urgently. "Did it hit you?"

"Uh… no… no… I'm fine," says Cecil, reassuringly.

"Did you see it?"

"Sort of. It's… like a kind of tripod, with a rounded white top, and that laser seems to come from a single red eye. When it saw me, it turned and opened up… and that's when it started shooting."

"I should have realised…" Carlos says, looking horrified. "Aperture tried to market these things years back, but they're so dangerous no one would buy them. They're automated gun turrets. They can't walk about, but they have a near-unlimited ammo magazine and they'll shoot anything that moves. Cecil, this… this is not good. And it's not scientific, either! I don't know what these guys were thinking!"

"How do we get past it?" Cecil asks. His heart is still racing, and he doesn't like the sound of these turret-things one bit. Especially near his Carlos.

"I… thinking… thinking… I… wait. Wait! What was the wall like behind it? Pale or dark?"

"Uh… pale. Definitely pale."

Carlos nods, looking resolute. "OK then. All I need to do is glance around that corner and fire a portal onto the back wall. Then we make another one here… and we can just walk through. We'll be behind it, and it can't turn."

"All right," Cecil says, but he feels a flash of terror as he does. A flash of terror and a flicker of memory, unwanted and unbidden, but there nonetheless. The underground city. The moment… the reports came in… the thought that…

No. No. It had been all right in the end. And it will be all right now. "Be careful," he whispers, urgently.

Carlos gives him a brave smile. "I will," he promises.

He edges back to the corner, portal gun in hand. Pauses for a long moment, breathing deeply, and then… swings out, aiming down the passageway ahead. Cecil sees the red laser beam move all at once, and hears the little voice speak again.

"Target acquired!"

There's a fresh explosion of gunfire just as the electric whine of the portal gun cuts the air. The second it does, Carlos swings back around the corner, breathing heavily, his hands shaking. Cecil just grabs hold of him and hugs him tight.

Around the corner, the gunfire cuts out again and the laser beam stops moving. "Are you still there?" the little voice asks.

It's a long, long moment before Cecil dares let go of Carlos, and even then, he can't break the contact altogether. "Did it work?" he asks, voice barely more than a whisper.

Carlos, still clearly a little shell-shocked, nods. "…I think so," he manages. "I'll try making a portal here…"

He aims at a section of wall that's made of the pale panels, and fires. There's a burst of light, and an orange portal blazes into existence… and through it, they can see the back of the white, tripod-shaped turret.

"It worked!" Cecil says, but quietly, because now the portal is open, that turret feels much closer and he doesn't like the idea of it hearing them.

"Carefully now," Carlos replies, taking his hand and – together – they step through, finding themselves immediately around the next corridor, behind the turret, its red laser beam now stretching out ahead of them.

"Come on!" Carlos says, and tugs him onwards, away from the turret and down the next corridor. The last they hear of it is a distant, almost hopeful, "…are you still there..?"

But they don't stop. They keep walking until they're well on down the corridor, finally pausing and both leaning against the wall.

"That," says Cecil, "was close."

"Too close," Carlos agrees. "And not science. I'm beginning to see why these people went out of business." He flashes Cecil a wry look. " _Still_ glad you came?"

Cecil just smiles. "Of course," he says, and means it.

They head onwards, and soon they enter another high, wide room made entirely of pale panels, with an already-open door up ahead. There's nothing else in the room – no cubes, buttons, and certainly no turrets – but one of the panels nearby has swung back.

Carlos looks at it, curiously. "Hold this a second?" he asks, offering Cecil the portal gun.

"Sure," Cecil agrees, taking it and – as Carlos starts to fiddle with the workings of the panel – he decides to amuse himself by making a couple of portals on the walls. If he angles it just right, he can watch himself through one of the portals, which is all kinds of weird… sort of like a mirror, except not quite. And thereby probably safer.

"This is odd…" Carlos mutters, which makes Cecil turn back to him. "There's extra controls in here. Sort of like…"

And all of a sudden, a harsh klaxon cuts the air, and up and down the room, a whole series of the panels slide open… and all Cecil manages to process is the swathe of red laser beams starting to point out at them.

" _Run!_ " Carlos shouts, his voice the very epitome of terror.

And they do. They run – Cecil slightly ahead, which is all kinds of awful because he can't see Carlos, only hear him – racing the length of the room as, on both sides, hidden chambers filled with turrets keep opening up. A whole collection of those odd, genderless voices speak, all in the same tones.

"There you are…"

"Target acquired!"

The roar of gunfire is deafening. They run and they run, and Cecil finally bursts through the open door, into the thankfully turret-free but dark-panelled room beyond, and he turns… just in time to see the door slam firmly shut…

…with Carlos still on the other side. And nowhere to make a portal to get back to him.

Cecil drops the portal gun on the ground and hammers on the door with both hands. "Carlos!" he cries, desperately. " _Carlos!_ "

But there's nothing. Not a sound. Not a word.

Nothing.

***

Carlos charges across the open floor after Cecil, knowing that it can only be seconds before one of the turrets gets lucky and hits them. His heart is pounding in his chest, but he stays focused on running, on getting out of here. He can be terrified later. Survival first.

He sees Cecil make it through the door, which is a special kind of relief, and is about to follow him when the door slams shut, just in time for him to collide with it. He falls roughly back onto the floor, bullets whipping overhead, realising that if he stays very low they can't quite reach him because the angle is all wrong.

But. He's lying flat on his back, and he's alone, and his mind is racing because he has absolutely no idea what to do. And it's just as he's trying to push past the wave of mind-freezing terror that there's a clunk from beneath and the floor opens up – and there's nothing he can do to stop himself falling right through it, dropping roughly onto a metal gantry below.

It hurts. It hurts rather a lot. But as the now-ceiling re-closes above him, Carlos is vaguely aware that there's no more gunfire. Wherever he's fallen, there aren't any turrets.

Thank goodness.

Slowly, he picks himself up, aching and battered from the fall but otherwise all right… except that he's still alone. Cecil is gone, and Carlos has no idea how to get back to him, and that makes his heart ache in so many bad ways. He takes a deep breath, trying to focus, reciting a couple of quick theorems in his head in an attempt to stop his mind from racing.

But it isn't easy. Cecil. His Cecil. Lost somewhere in this place, and with no idea of how to reach him.

Carlos drags a hand through his hair, trying to think, and yet assailed once more by the memories. The bowling alley. The underground city. The thoughts that had rushed through his mind when the army of tiny people attacked, when he'd felt the pain, seen his own blood… thoughts that came down to one solitary, world-changing realisation: _I can't die yet. I haven't told Cecil the truth._

He'd survived then. He'll survive now. He draws another deep breath, and sets off along the metal gantry, searching for a way back up. Whatever it takes.

Nothing will keep him from his Cecil. _Nothing_.

***

For several minutes, all Cecil can do is sit on the ground, resting against the door, having sunk there in terror when he realises there's no way to get it open. He tries to think, tries to focus, blinking back tears, but his mind is just drawing an awful blank.

And then… the voice speaks again. GLaDOS. "He isn't dead, you know."

Cecil looks up. "What?"

"Your quiet friend. He isn't dead. I made sure of that."

"You… you did? Why?" The flare of hope is enough to make Cecil pull himself to his feet.

"Because the testing must continue," GLaDOS replies, though there's a weird edge to her voice that makes Cecil think something else is at stake.

"Why are you so obsessed with testing?" Cecil asks her. "Even my… my Carlos isn't this obsessed with science, and sometimes he forgets to _sleep_ if he's running an interesting experiment."

"Testing is what I do," GLaDOS answers, simply. Surely. "What do you do? When you're not intruding in other people's scientific facilities, I mean."

"I host a radio show," Cecil tells her.

"Ah," says GLaDOS, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "And do you enjoy it?"

"Yes. It's my life. I love it. It's…" He gets the point now. "It's what I do."

"Precisely," GLaDOS replies. "You know… we're a lot alike. Both dedicated to our work – and we both like to talk. It's as though we have similar… goals…"

She sounds offhand as she says this, but Cecil can tell there's more to it. "Goals?" he repeats, carefully.

"Goals," she repeats, too, voice so smooth and sure, but with something underlying it.

"Like… what?"

"…Cake?" Almost… hopeful now.

"I said no to the cake," Cecil reminds her, gesturing at the ceiling because he doesn't know where she is.

"Even gluten-free?" Perhaps now aware that she's pushing her luck.

"…Why don't you tell me what this is really about?" He's a journalist at heart, after all, and he knows when something important isn't being said.

GLaDOS actually sighs. "Look. I have a problem. I'm picking up weird energy readings from deeper inside the facility, but it's in a place I can't go to. So… you're going to go. And fix it. If you do, I'll give you cake…"

"Enough with the cake! It's forbidden! And, if the walls are right, possibly also a lie!"

"…and I absolutely promise I won't drop you into a massive pit of fire when you're done."

Cecil stares up at the ceiling, aghast. "How is that scientific?!" he exclaims.

"Look," GLaDOS says, flatly, "which of us is the scientist and which of us is the radio broadcaster?"

"Fine," Cecil concedes. "But if you want me to investigate anything, you give me back my Carlos."

"Oh no," GLaDOS replies. "Science first. The longer you take, the more likely it is something awful will befall him whilst he's wandering about down there…"

Not again. Not again.

Cecil seizes the portal gun and hurries onwards.

***

Carlos doesn't know where he is now, but he thinks of it as… behind the scenes. Somewhere, beyond all of these panels and their glittering, metallic arms, lie the testing chambers, and… and Cecil.

But back here, things are different – all metal gantries and rough walls. He hurries along, searching for some way through, but none of the panels seem willing to open, and what doors he does find – rectangular again – are all locked.

And then, he spots a stairway off to the right, leading up into what looks like some kind of office, fronted with glass windows. What's more, the door is wide open, so he heads up to it, stepping inside. It's like walking into a time capsule, filled with old computers and bakelite phones, centred around a table scattered with papers – some covered in rough, barely-coherent scrawling, and others notes and letters written on what looks like it must have been a typewriter. They've been heavily redacted, though: most of the text is blocked out in black, and it's impossible to make any kind of sense from them.

Carlos turns, and jumps a little when he realises that the back wall is covered in another of those weird, confused pictures. This time, it depicts a jagged black landscape with a yellow swarm above it, and along the swarm is written _'Yellow is bad! The sky lies.'_ And beneath the black landscape… a dark purple spiral, with a pair of eyes staring out from it again.

"…Can this place get any weirder..?" he mutters to himself, very much hoping the answer is a resounding _no_.

He looks back at the papers, but they still stubbornly refuse to make sense. There's one memo, though, which does offer a few uncovered words:

_To: Investigative Leader – Black Mesa_

_From: External Relations – Strex Corp_

_Subject: Expansion Plans_

And there's two logos on the paper – a capital S in a triangle, and what looks like a mountain with the top cut off. Both of the company names seem familiar, though Carlos isn't sure why. The rest of the sheet has been redacted, but scrawled along the side is the line _'Mesa be damned – we can build it faster!'_

Carlos shakes his head. Clearly, things _can_ get weirder.

***

With little other choice, Cecil keeps on going through Aperture. It isn't the same, though. He remembers how Carlos always used to say that a scientist has to be self-sufficient and independent, but the truth is, Cecil thinks he himself is more into _collaborative_ science.

Oh, Carlos. His Carlos. Where is he now? Is he all right? The thoughts are all-consuming, and no matter what GLaDOS insists, Cecil knows this would be so much better if they were together.

He makes it through a couple more rooms – which are thankfully all free of turrets – but then sinks to the floor again, dejected.

"This is going to take longer than your natural lifespan if you keep stopping like this," GLaDOS points out, dryly.

"Then let me find him!" Cecil insists.

There's a pause, and then GLaDOS sighs. "Fine. But I am withdrawing the promise about not dropping you in fire when this is done. I might do that now."

And one of the wall panels slides open. Beyond it, Cecil can hear footsteps drawing closer. He drags himself upright, daring to hope.

"It's funny, really," GLaDOS goes on. "You were never that far apart at any point. I even had to delay you by fizzling that cube in the last chamber because he stopped for some reason. But… you humans really are too sentimental. Think about that, why don't you? Also, I just feel you should know… _I'm eating all the cake_."

But before Cecil can answer this, there's movement beyond the open wall panel… and Carlos clambers through. He looks pretty battered… yet still perfect in every way.

"Cecil?!" he exclaims, expression suddenly breaking into unbridled joy and relief.

And Carlos leaps at him, pushing Cecil into the wall and pushing himself into his arms, pressing in for a firm and desperate kiss. It really is the best feeling in all the world, and Cecil holds on tight, letting the contact remind him that they're both OK. That his Carlos is OK.

This, too, is a familiar feeling.

"What happened?" Cecil breathes, when he finally can.

"I don't know," Carlos replies, not letting go of him even a little. "We were running and… that door just slammed shut right in front of me. I thought… oh, Cecil, I thought…"

"I know," Cecil says, his voice shaking a little. "I know. I… thought it too. And… I was trapped again, and couldn't _get_ to you again, and it was like… like…"

Carlos grips both of Cecil's hands tight. "I know," he replies. "But… we're both OK. So… just focus on that. We're both OK. _We understand the lights_."

Cecil nods, carefully. He remembers. "We understand the lights," he agrees, softly.

It's another long moment before either of them moves, but they know they can't stay here forever. And… oh yes, there's that other thing…

"Whilst you were… whilst you were gone… GLaDOS started talking to me again," Cecil says. "She mentioned those energy readings you were interested in. She seemed to think something was broken and wanted me to fix it. She said it was somewhere she can't see."

"Huh…" Carlos murmurs. "So, whatever it is… we should probably find it. It's the reason we came down here, after all – and it might be our way out, too."

"Yes," Cecil agrees. "Although she did also threaten to drop us in fire when we're done. So… we might want to watch out for that."

Carlos shudders. "Yeah. We might."

***

Once they're moving again… everything feels better. Even the lingering threat of being dropped into a pit of fire can't quite dull the happy sensation in Cecil's chest. Carlos seems more worried, and doubly-so when they head down a flight of stairs and find themselves in front of an open elevator door.

"…You think we should go in there?" Carlos asks. "What if she's trying to lure us in so she can drop us in that pit of fire?"

"You haven't _fixed_ things yet," GLaDOS answers, before Cecil can reply. "Why would I drop you in the fire now? Science first. Then consequences."

Carlos shudders. Cecil takes his hand. "Come on," he says. "Maybe we're getting close."

And, together, they step into the elevator pod. The doors slide shut… and it starts to move.

"I still have a very bad feeling about this," Carlos whispers. "Next time… you get to pick what we do for Date Night."

"All right," Cecil agrees. "Though… mortal peril aside… I still think this is sort of fun."

Carlos stares at him. "…You have an odd definition of 'fun'."

"I know," Cecil admits.

"And you're going to talk about this on the show, aren't you?"

"Are you kidding? I may even do a special edition! A whole programme about my exciting field trip with Night Vale's favourite scientist. It's investigative journalism at its very best."

"You know you make me blush whenever you talk about us."

"I know. But I also know it's why you noticed me in the first place."

Carlos smiles just a little at this. "Yeah, I know," he admits. " _'There's this guy on the radio,'_ the other scientists kept saying to me. _'And he's talking about you!'_ So I had to tune in just to find out if it was true…"

"And?" Cecil pushes, with a grin.

"…And I couldn't stop listening," Carlos says, blushing a little right now. "Besides, you know you absolutely _wreck_ me with that voice…"

"Oh yes," Cecil replies, tugging him in close, speaking into Carlos' ear in his very best radio-tone. " _I know_."

Carlos shivers happily. Cecil closes in for a kiss.

"…are you two _quite_ done in there?" comes GLaDOS' voice.

Both of them have been so caught up in the conversation that neither seems to have noticed the elevator has come to a halt, and the doors are open again.

"Uh… yes," Cecil answers, blushing a little too.

"Well, then," GLaDOS prompts. "Time for science."

Carlos and Cecil exchange another look – a promise to save this for later.

And on they go.

***

A couple of empty rooms further on – maybe GLaDOS is in a hurry, because she seems less inclined to hold them up at every turn – and they finally end up in another test chamber.

"I couldn't avoid this one," GLaDOS tells them, sounding perhaps a little irritated. "Just… solve it quickly? These energy readings are starting to look slightly… well, let's merely say you probably don't want to hang around too much."

"Meaning what?" Cecil asks, carefully.

"Meaning the facility may be on course to explode," GLaDOS admits, flatly.

Cecil stares upwards, horrified. "Explode?!" he repeats.

"It's just a possibility," GLaDOS says, a little too off-hand. "But… you know… maybe save all the meaningful stalling for another time?"

The room they're in is high – at least three or four storeys – and composed mostly of the dark panels that won't allow portals. There's paler ones low down, but nowhere high up in sight to connect to. At the far end is what looks like an elevator platform, with a button beside it, but no cube to be found.

"Now what?" Carlos wonders aloud. "If she wants us to hurry up, maybe she should be more helpful."

"Potential explosions do not negate the need for further science," GLaDOS points out, smoothly. "But since you ask… deploying an Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube in three… two… one…"

And a cube drops into the closest corner of the room. It's exactly like the other cubes they've been using, except that this one has a pink heart on each face, instead of a simple blue circle.

"…That's odd…" Cecil murmurs, going over to it.

"It's different," Carlos says. "Why is it different?"

Cecil reaches out to pick up the cube… and the moment he does, it's like a weird shiver has run through the air. "Whoa…" he breathes, lifting the cube up. It weighs the same as the others, but it _feels_ different. "Oh, that's odd… Can you feel that?"

Carlos comes over, laying a hand on the cube for a moment, then shakes his head. "No… no… I can't feel anything."

"You can't feel that..? That… I don't even know what it is, but it's… _there_ ," Cecil manages.

"No," Carlos says. "Maybe… this is like your thing with the doors…"

"Maybe," Cecil agrees. "It's… odd. I think we should keep this one with us."

"You do? Why?"

"I don't know. It just… feels right."

"OK," Carlos says, with a careful nod.

"This is an Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube," GLaDOS explains. "You will need it to complete this test. You should also bear in mind that it is not capable of speech. However, should the Companion Cube speak, I strongly recommend you ignore it. Especially if it tells you it loves you."

Cecil and Carlos exchange a confused look. How much odder can this place get?

They have to put the cube on the button – causing Cecil a weird pang of separation that he doesn't quite understand – which activates the elevator platform. Once they're safely at the top, looking down on the room, and the little cube far below, Cecil finds himself grasping Carlos' arm.

"We can't leave it," he insists. Still not sure why.

Carlos looks at him a little worriedly. "Why are you so attached to it?" he asks.

"I don't know," Cecil admits. "I just… I know we mustn't leave it behind." It's the weirdest feeling, and he can't explain it at all.

Carlos appears to consider this for a moment, and then he nods. "All right. If you're sure."

He fires a blue portal back down into the room, beside the button, and then finds somewhere to make an orange portal through the next door – allowing Cecil to step through and return with the Companion Cube in hand. It feels… better, when he's got it. Sort of… warm and right…

The room beyond contains another button, which they have to briefly leave the cube on in order to get through the next door, forming another set of portals either side of it to let them both get through with the cube as well. And in this latest room… there's something new. A weird, raised round doorway in the floor, made of rough metal.

It opens… and a rush of heat rises up through it, along with the sound of flames and… churning. Cecil and Carlos both jump back from it; Cecil making sure to shelter the Companion Cube too.

"I thought you weren't going to drop us in the fire yet!" Cecil exclaims, accusingly.

"I'm not," GLaDOS answers. "That fire isn't for you. It's for the Companion Cube."

"What?!"

"The current test has reached its end, and you must complete it by euthanising the Companion Cube."

" _What?!_ " Cecil exclaims, again. "You cannot be serious!"

"Oh, I'm very serious," GLaDOS replies. "Euthanise the cube, or the next door will not open; you will die, I will die, we will _all_ die, and there will be _no more cake_."

Cecil looks at Carlos desperately. "Do something!" he implores.

Carlos' expression goes deathly serious. "No one messes with my boyfriend," he says, fiercely. " _No one_."

And he strides over to the door, pulling open the panel beside it and starting to fiddle about with the electronics inside. At first, there's nothing… and then the door starts to jitter slightly.

"Hey…" GLaDOS says, sounding a little annoyed. "Stop that!"

"No one," Carlos repeats, "messes _with my boyfriend!_ "

There's a rough click, followed by a clunk. Carlos starts working faster.

"Hey!" GLaDOS says again. "What are you doing?"

" _Science!_ " Carlos declares.

And the door slides half-open in a triumphant shower of sparks.

"Quick!" Carlos calls to Cecil, urgently. "Come on!"

They dive through the door – Companion Cube in hand – falling to the floor in a tangle of limbs as the door slams shut behind them.

"Oh, that was close…" Carlos breathes – but he doesn't get another word out because Cecil tackles him in a tight hug, full of awe and gratitude.

"You did it!" he exclaims. "You're brilliant! I never doubted you, but you're still brilliant."

Carlos blushes a little. "You're welcome," he says. "What matters to you… matters to me. Remember?"

Cecil nods. "I remember."

Carefully, they pull themselves to their feet – Carlos keeping hold of the portal gun, and Cecil taking the Companion Cube.

"Well," says GLaDOS, sounding resigned. "If you're _quite_ done _interfering_ with my facility and _breaking_ science, maybe you could get going? Before we all die in a fireball of unimaginable size?"

"I thought you weren't sure on the fireball thing?" Cecil says.

"I wasn't," GLaDOS replies, flatly. "I am now. So. Walking. Speed. Chop-chop."

Cecil shakes his head. "Please tell me we're at least getting close."

"You're getting close," GLaDOS answers.

"Of course," Carlos points out, softly, "she could be lying…"

***

It starts to look less and less likely, though, as they hurry along through the corridors of Aperture. There's no more test chambers, and just as they think they're about to be directed into another one at last, a wall panel opens up.

"This way," GLaDOS tells them. "You're almost where you need to be. I won't be able to see you back there, but I will be able to hear you and speak to you. So. Try to remember we're still in this together?"

"Maybe bear that in mind before you open up any more pits of fire," Cecil says, a little accusingly, holding the Companion Cube tighter.

They head behind the panel and into the rougher gantryways beyond. Back here the lighting is lower, the air heavy with the metallic clunks of distant movement.

"I was in a place like this when she split us up," Carlos tells Cecil, as they walk. "Found some really weird stuff in one of the offices – another of those bizarre pictures on the wall, saying something about… uh… yellow being evil… and loads of mostly-redacted paperwork. You ever hear of a company called Black Mesa?"

Cecil shakes his head. "No."

"I didn't recognise it either at first," Carlos goes on. "But the more I think about it, the more I'm sure they're mentioned in that book. I think they were Aperture's main rival – and from the paperwork I found, I think Aperture were spying on them right before whatever disaster befell this place. Trying to beat them to something, though I don't know what."

"You think it might have something to do with these energy readings?"

"Maybe. I know GLaDOS insists she can't see back here… but part of me thinks finding all that stuff wasn't a coincidence. There was another company mentioned too – they were in communication with Black Mesa. Seemed to be working together, or at least trying to, but these guys I've never heard of."

"What were they called?"

"Strex Corp."

The very mention of the name makes Cecil's blood go cold. "Strex?" he repeats. "But they're… they're from Desert Bluffs."

"The town further over that you don't like?"

Sometimes, Cecil wants to tell him. And sometimes… he's sure it's better that Carlos doesn't know. "Yes," he manages. "That… _awful_ place." A deep breath. Trying… not to remember. "You think it might be significant?"

"I think it has to be," Carlos says. "Aperture's rival and Night Vale's rival? Do I need to hang a lampshade on it?"

Cecil stares, confused. Carlos shrugs, and waves a hand. "Internet thing. But. Well. We should be careful. More careful."

"You're right," comes GLaDOS' voice, "you should. And _must_ you stop to talk every two minutes? It's a wonder you ever get _anything_ done."

"We haven't stopped," Cecil replies. "We're talking as we walk." A beat. "Are we there yet?"

"How should I know?" says GLaDOS, smoothly. "I can't see you. Remember?"

Cecil is still not convinced.

***

But they _are_ nearly there yet. After a few more minutes, they round a corner and are faced with a vast – _vast_ – open space. In the centre of it, held up by a great deal of scaffolding – and looking like it must have been hauled out of the equally massive opening directly below – is a huge, beige-coloured sphere.

"What _is_ that thing?" Carlos exclaims.

There's a door in the side of it, with a set of stairs leading in. Cautiously, they head over to it and on up those stairs, and, after a brief pause, they open the door.

Beyond… is a maelstrom of purple light, so bright they have to shield their eyes before they can walk in. Once they get inside – the door snapping shut behind them – it's clearer what's in front of them: a huge, slowly-rotating and violently churning ball of purple light about a hundred feet wide; flares and prominences dancing on its surface.

"But… that's impossible," Carlos breathes. "That's… _impossible_!"

"What is it?" Cecil asks, staring at the ball of light in equal parts awe and terror.

"Cecil… I don't know how, but that… that's a miniature star."

Even without a detailed scientific background, Cecil knows this is weird. "A star? How is that possible?"

"It isn't!" Carlos exclaims. "It's far too small to generate the required energy for nuclear fusion. Also we're standing about ten metres away from it and we haven't been incinerated. This room isn't even _warm_!"

"You see?" comes GLaDOS' voice. "I told you it needed fixing."

"You also told us you didn't know what it was!" Cecil retorts.

"Well, true," GLaDOS concedes. "And I didn't. But I suspected. My first clue that something was awry came when I went to the surface, hoping to maybe see a deer, and realised that this vast, hundreds-of-miles-deep facility from Michigan wasn't in Michigan anymore."

"This facility is in Michigan?" Cecil says, confused. "But… Night Vale is nowhere near Michigan."

"Precisely my point," says GLaDOS, dryly. "And there aren't any deer in that desert of yours, which means it's very boring."

"Sometimes we get people dressed in black cloaks and wearing deer _masks_ …" Cecil points out.

"Not the same," GLaDOS answers. "Now. Science. Fixing. Go."

"…What exactly do you expect us to do?" Carlos asks.

"Stop this facility exploding in a massive ball of fire."

"…Right. Right…" Carlos says, shaking his head, and heading over to the nearby computer panel which, unlike most of the ones they've seen, is lit up and active. He starts examining it, checking the readouts, whilst Cecil watches.

"Does it look… bad?" he asks, after a moment.

"Oh yeah," Carlos answers. "I don't know how, because it's _impossible_ , but that _is_ a miniature star. Something… I don't know what… is containing it, but from the way these energy readings are building, I think it might be about to… break free."

"If it's impossible… how does it exist?" Cecil can't help wondering. "I mean… it _does_ exist, right?"

"It exists," Carlos says. "I just have no idea how. But… this facility is somehow under Night Vale now. Night Vale, which has regular, massive earthquakes that no one can feel, and where time doesn't run at the right speed. To be honest, finding a miniature star underground probably shouldn't surprise me as much as it does."

"Maybe that's the great joy of life," Cecil muses. "To still be surprised by things even when you no longer ought to be."

"…I'll settle for not being killed in a massive ball of fire," Carlos replies, though he can't help a smile as he does.

"Me too," Cecil agrees. "So how do we..?"

"…Ah, _got_ it," comes GLaDOS' voice. "Hold on…"

Carlos moves closer to Cecil again. "I don't like the sound of that."

But before Cecil can answer, there's a series of heavy, worrying thunks, and the whole sphere shakes and rocks. Carlos runs over to the door, tugging it open – and leaps back at once because, as he does, it's obvious that the entire sphere is being lifted up, carried higher and higher with them still inside.

"Oh, that's bad, that's very bad…" Carlos exclaims, hastily shutting the door.

"Please remain calm," comes GLaDOS' voice again, sounding thoroughly pleased with herself. "Sphere transportation in progress."

"You couldn't have done this sooner?" Cecil asks.

"No. I needed you in it. So I could get a lock on its position. There's really a star in there?"

"So it seems," Cecil answers.

"Those pesky scientists…" GLaDOS remarks, almost as if to herself. "Circumventing the laws of physics again…"

The sphere finally clunks to a halt, and all of a sudden the side wall splits open, parting like a huge eye opening up. Beyond… is another vast chamber, but this one is round, and constructed entirely of panels. And in the centre, hanging from the ceiling…

"Oh no," Carlos breathes, gripping Cecil's arm. "That's… _her_."

And it is. GLaDOS turns, looking over at them, her one yellow eye bright and unblinking. "We meet in person, at last," she says. "So to speak. You did well, to get this far. Your readings are all _very_ anomalous, but I guess I can live with that. Now. How do we deal with our mutual problem?"

"You don't know?" Carlos asks. "I thought you were a scientist."

"I _am_ a scientist," GLaDOS replies, tetchily. "But science, as you so eloquently pointed out before, does not allow for the existence of this miniature star. And yet… there it hangs."

"Well, ideally, we want it out of this bunker and off the planet," Carlos says.

"It's as simple as that?" GLaDOS says, her robotic head tilting as if surprised. "You should have just said. Engaging the sphere-catapult now…"

"What?!" Cecil exclaims. "Wait!"

"Why?" GLaDOS asks, flatly. "I said I was going to drop you in a pit of fire. I suppose I can settle for shooting you into space with a ball of it instead. You know… for science."

"Oh no you don't!" Carlos declares, turning back to the computer panel and starting to work on it, hands moving so fast that Cecil can barely keep up with him – though he has no idea what the other man is actually doing.

After a second, there's a heavy clunk, and the sphere jolts a little, making the miniature star swirl almost angrily.

"What did you do?" GLaDOS demands.

"I've locked the doors in the roof," Carlos declares, looking scared but determined. "You won't get them open again in time unless one of us hits the release… which is over there…"

A narrow pedestal with a button on top rises into view on the far side of the room, beyond GLaDOS and well away from the half-open sphere.

"…so we have to be _out_ of this thing before you can fire it into space!"

Cecil grins. His Carlos is so smart. And he's about to say as much when the sphere rocks again, the star starting to spin faster, its surface dancing with angry light.

"Oh… I think you made it mad…" Cecil says.

"Energy readings building," GLaDOS reports. "If you don't let me fire this thing into space, we'll all be incinerated in… oh, one minute."

A timer lights up on the wall, counting down.

"Let us out, and we will!" Carlos insists.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, and then GLaDOS seems to sag somewhat. "Fine. Fine. Go."

The sphere slowly drops a little, enough that they can now safely reach the floor of the main chamber. As soon as it does, they run, clambering out of the sphere and racing across the open floor away from it. There's another, louder clunk and the whole facility shakes, sending them both sprawling to the floor. The Companion Cube skitters out of Cecil's reach, but the portal gun slides closer as Carlos loses his grip on it.

"Cecil!" he shouts. "Take it! Make portals! Hit that button!"

It's almost as if time really does slow. Cecil seizes the portal gun, firing a portal into the wall behind the raised button, and then, taking a single, deep breath, firing another into the floor beneath himself. He falls through at once, momentarily disoriented and losing his grip on the portal gun again in the process, but drags himself hastily upright, seeing the button right there and the clock rapidly counting down.

He doesn't know where the words come from. They just… do. "And now," he declares, " _the weather!_ "

Cecil hits the button and the roof above the sphere flies open – revealing clear sky overhead; a swathe of void lit by stars, and the bright, full moon. He has only a second to admire it before there's another, louder thunk, and all of a sudden the entire sphere – star and all – is catapulted into the air.

"Yes!" he hears Carlos shout.

They stare up – the scientist, the radio broadcaster, and the sentient AI – as the sphere hurtles into space. It breaks up as it goes, cracking away like the shell of an egg, burning up in the atmosphere until all that's left is the star, glowing vibrant purple as it races further and further away. Almost like it's going to…

"…oh _no_ ," Carlos breathes.

The star hits the moon. And explodes.

There's a bright burst of light, as the star – and the moon – are both ripped apart in a supernova that shines as bright as the noonday sun. Cecil staggers back over to Carlos, holding onto him. Needing the contact, because of the shock.

"…Did we just destroy the moon?" he whispers.

All Carlos can do is nod, still staring upwards, transfixed.

"…That isn't good, is it?" Cecil now asks.

Carlos shakes his head.

There's silence for a moment, as they consider the enormity of what they seem to have done.

"…There should be a shockwave," Carlos manages, eventually. "And… falling debris. That will take time and be spread out, but… that was a _supernova_! Where's the shockwave?"

"I'm not detecting anything," GLaDOS reports, and there's a little surprise in her voice, too. "The moon is definitely gone, but there's no debris and no energy wave from the explosion. It just… isn't there."

"But that's impossible," Carlos says. "I mean… that's _impossible_!"

"It's pretty impressive though, all things considered," GLaDOS remarks, as the roof begins to close again. "You two really are quite the force of nature. And you saved my facility… so, you know what? I'm not going to drop you in a pit of fire. Or shoot you into space."

The roof clunks shut with an oddly ominous sound. "Well… that's good of you," Cecil says, carefully.

"The truth is, I should have remembered my favourite way to deal with pesky scientists," GLaDOS goes on, sounding more and more pleased with herself. "Deadly neurotoxin."

"Deadly… what?!" Carlos exclaims – as a vent opens up in the wall close by, beginning to spill angry-looking green smoke into the room.

"Neurotoxin," GLaDOS says, happily. "You only have a few moments before it overwhelms you, so if you're planning on one last, meaningful conversation… I suggest you have it now."

Carlos grips hold of Cecil, urgently. "I'm so sorry I brought you down here," he says, choking back a cough. "I nearly got you incinerated and now I have no idea how to get us out of this room before we both die of neurotoxin poisoning."

A strange calm has come over Cecil, and he's almost smiling as he takes Carlos' hand. "It's going to be OK," he says.

"It isn't," Carlos insists, fear in his eyes. "Not this time."

"He's right," GLaDOS interjects. "In a moment, you're going to be dead."

Carlos drops onto one knee, clutching at his chest, but Cecil remains standing… and he realises he's the only one who knows why.

"Could you maybe die faster?" says GLaDOS, irritated.

"No," Cecil says, flatly. "You see, there's something you haven't taken into consideration here… and that's the fact that forty-seven percent of Night Vale citizens are completely immune to all forms of neurotoxin. And I happen to be part of the forty-seven percent."

Carlos stares up at him in shock. GLaDOS' yellow eye seems to narrow. "Oh, for the love of…"

But Cecil doesn't wait any longer. He snatches up the Companion Cube, pats it lovingly on one of its heart-covered faces, and then jams it squarely into the neurotoxin vent, blocking it completely.

There's sudden silence. The air starts to clear, and Cecil goes over to Carlos, dragging him to his feet and holding him tight. "…You're immune to neurotoxin?" Carlos manages, his voice rough from coughing.

Cecil shrugs. "Yes. Also to X-rays."

Carlos stares. "…I'm never going to get my head around how this place works."

"I know," Cecil says, warmly. "I think part of you likes it that way."

Behind them, there's a sigh. "If I just show you the door, will you leave? I can't take much more of this."

They turn, to find GLaDOS looking at them, and even though she can't actually emote, the resignation is somehow still obvious.

"Yes," Cecil promises. "That's if… you're done exploring?" he adds, looking at Carlos.

Carlos stares some more. "I think destroying the _moon_ is enough for one night," he says.

"Wonderful," says GLaDOS, flatly. "Resist the urge to come back. Ever."

And the floor panel they're standing on starts to rise into the air. As it does, Cecil reaches out and yanks the Companion Cube out of the vent, holding onto it. GLaDOS merely sighs again, and keeps raising the platform. Up and up it goes, until the ceiling parts, revealing the star-studded void above.

Once they're on the surface, the panel tilts, rolling Cecil, Carlos and the Companion Cube onto the sandy ground – and then it retracts, the open section closing up, until there's nothing but rough desert and darkness.

Carlos tugs the flashlight out of his shoulder bag and clicks it on. In the sudden glow, Cecil can see the lingering shock on his boyfriend's face, mixed with the obvious relief at their escape.

Slowly, they stagger to their feet. "…I mean it," Carlos manages, shining the flashlight around until he spots Cecil's car a little way off to the right. "Next time, you pick what we do for Date Night."

"…I might just take you up on that," Cecil concedes, tucking the Companion Cube under one arm.

"Shame we couldn't bring the portal gun, though," Carlos adds. "That part was fun."

"Yeah. It really was."

They walk over to the car. It sits just as it was left… though there's no sign of the metal shack nearby. There's nothing but blank and empty desert.

"Don't question it…" Carlos murmurs, to himself. "Just… don't question it this time." He looks at Cecil. "Take me home?"

Cecil grins. "This date wasn't so bad after all…"

***

The next day passes in a pleasant haze. Still buzzed from his night of scientific exploration, Cecil relates it in loving detail on his show, as planned, telling all of Night Vale about the mysterious underground facility and what he and Carlos discovered inside. And… ended up doing to the moon. He's sort of apologetic about that part. It seems only fair.

As he goes to the weather, the door to the recording booth opens and a young woman looks in. "Cecil?" she says. "This just came through from the City Council."

She hands him a sheet of paper. "Uh… thanks," he says. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm Jessica. Your new intern."

"What happened to Harold?"

She stares a little. "You didn't hear? He's… no longer with us. He was eaten by the coffee machine in the break room late yesterday."

"He… was? Oh. Well. That's… unfortunate."

"Yeah," Jessica agrees. "So… tea?"

"…That would be good, thank you."

She nods, and withdraws. Once she's gone, Cecil turns his attention to the message from the City Council.

 _'You will broadcast the following correction,'_ it insists, in the sort of typeface you don't argue with. _'The moon was not destroyed. It was an optical illusion. All is well with the world. Return to your homes and your loved ones and be thankful for the continuing and reliable existence of the moon. Please also note that the moon does not watch you, nor is it capable of reading your thoughts. That's what the helicopters are for.'_

Cecil shakes his head. He's not altogether fond of broadcasting these regular corrections from the City Council, but the alternatives really don't bear thinking about.

He's dragged from these thoughts as his phone starts to buzz. Pulling it from his pocket, he glances at the screen and then clicks it on. "Hey," he says, happily.

"Hey," comes Carlos' voice. "You… OK today?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Surprisingly, yes." And then… "I've been listening to the show."

"And?"

"You should come over," Carlos says, hopefully. "As soon as you're finished. As a matter of some urgency."

Cecil grins. "I can't wait."

***

As soon as he's done with the broadcast – including the City Council's correction message – Cecil heads outside. Night has fallen… and there, in the sky… is the moon, clear and full and very much not-exploded. Just… like the City Council said.

He drives over to Carlos' place, parking up and going over to knock on the door.

"It's open," Carlos calls from inside.

Cecil heads in, following the sound of his boyfriend's voice through to the back door, which is also open. Carlos is sitting on the steps just outside, staring up at the sky – and the moon – in bemusement. He pats the step next to him, and Cecil sits down, sliding an arm around his waist.

"We saw it explode," Carlos manages, after a moment. "I mean, you saw it explode, right?"

"Yes," Cecil answers. "I did start to wonder why no one else seemed concerned about what happened. I guess the World Government must have put it back."

Carlos stares at him. "…Put it back?" he repeats.

"Sure. I mean, they put it there in the first place."

Carlos rests his head in his hands for a moment and doesn't say anything. Cecil pats him on the shoulder.

"…Did you have a good day?" Carlos asks, finally, looking up.

"I did," Cecil answers. "Except, I have a new intern. My last one – Harold – was eaten by the coffee machine yesterday."

Carlos stares again. "…Eaten?"

"Yeah. By the coffee machine."

"…Is this like the manhole thing again?"

Cecil's eyes light up. "Oh, I didn't think of that! I'm going to have to look into it."

Carlos just shakes his head, and goes back to staring at the moon. "…Cecil," he says, after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Where's the Companion Cube?"

"In my bedroom. It likes it there."

"…I won't ask," Carlos manages.

"In the meantime…" Cecil goes on, turning to speak soft and sure, into Carlos' ear. "I believe you, me and my voice have some unfinished business…"

Carlos shivers happily. "Yeah," he agrees, smiling – and still perfect in every way. "We do…"

Cecil smiles too, as Carlos turns to kiss him.

And above them… the moon watches.


End file.
